I have a similar Question. I hunt in N.E. WI. I usually draw the mid hunt,end of April. I've tried single hens,hen w/2 jakes,3-4 hens w/no jakes. I've had the "best" luck w/a single hen. Any suggestions?

stick w/ what works for you, if i've learned anything from my years of chasing these cagey critters, it's that what worked today probably won't work tomorrow, i had a bird @ 15 yards last year, headed for my spread [ upright hen, feeding hen and upright jake ], he was behind a bunch of saplings and had to walk another 10 FEET and he was mine, but he turned and walked dead away from me, circled the decoys and walked away....i blamed it on the jake decoy, which i didn't use again, but who knows....fyi got that bird close 2 more times and never got a shot....i got skunked last year, and hopefully his day is coming.....soon !!

I have my orginal Flambeau foam hen decoy that I carry with me all the time. She has been beat ragged. Have super glued her together many times. I also have a jake but very seldom put it out. Usually if I have the time I put a decoy out, but have had toms come in without the decoy. I will usually try to place the decoy so that by the time the bird sees the decoy it will be in range and his focus will be on the decoy and not any movement I might happen to make. Like Dave said what works today probably won't work tomorrow and the only absolute is there is no absolute. Getting a bird is icing on the cake, best part is being out there with them. Good luck

What works for me may not work for you and what works today may not work tomorrowDoug <- <- ~<- <- <- ~ <-

OR, you can get a few DSD decoys, and get ready for a good time !! yes they are expensive, but wow they look great.. i already feel asleep in my blind, woke up, saw the decoys and thought they were actually turkeys and nearly fell off my blind chair..

my dad took these to NY last year. shot a Tom off the set in a mild snowfall.. 1 hour later, decoys still with whitebacks from the snow, his buddie shot a Tom.. and they never even moved the decoys

If you dont want to spend that much money. The new Zink think they may be called axis decoys are amazingly realistic. They are a little heavy if your gonna be climbing in tough terrain but they look good. Sould run around $80

I would look into the Zink Avian X decoys. There is a feeder and a looker, both are about as realistic as they come. Matt C is correct, they run $80. The benefit that I see in the Zink decoys is that they are collapsable and can be stored in your vest or transported in the bad that is included. The paint and feather detailing is amazing. You can check them out at www.zinkcalls.com

As far as what to use a hen, jake, strutter, 2 hens, etc... You have to read the birds, you may have a subbordinate tom that may see the jake decoy and take off or if he see's a single hen may come running in. Where I hunt in Missouri it's day to day, I scout my tail off and try to use that information to make an informed decision on the use of decoys. Good luck.

USING A DECOY CAN MAKE OR IT CAN BREAK UR HUNTS..... IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT THE TOMS MIND IS ON..... IVE HAD TOMS RUN 300 YARDS TO ATTACK A STRUTTER I HAD OUT WITH A COUPLE OF HENS BUT IVE ALSO HAD TOMS HANGUP JUST OUT OF SHOOTING RANGE EVEN WHILE THE HENS MINGLED IN WITH MY DECOYS. IVE HAD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING FROM SINGLE HENS TO 2 HENS TO A TOM WITH 2 HENS.

ITS A LOT OF LUCK ALONG WITH SOME SKILL.... THE RIGHT TOM ON THE RIGHT DAY AT THE RIGHT TIME EVERY DECOY SETUP WILL WORK, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.... IF YOUR NOT IN THE WOODS TRYING, THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL FAIL!